Although their link to a sporting event is not clear, 41 fully functional pianos will pop up in parks and public spaces across greater Toronto next week in celebration of the upcoming Pan Am Games, the Pan/Parapan Am Games Committee announced Wednesday.

Organizers, who are spending about $250,000 on the project, said they hope the pianos, with the message “Play Me, I’m Yours” written across the key cover, will encourage residents to interact with their neighbours and start conversations about the 2015 games.

“Everyone, whether you’ve had two lessons on a piano or whether you’re a concert pianist, everyone at one point in their lives has encountered a piano in some form,” said Don Shipley, creative director of arts, culture and festivals for the Pan Am Games.

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Toronto-based artists from the 41 Pan Am countries will give each piano a distinctive cultural flare of their native country, said Mr. Shipley, adding that one of the hardest challenges has been locating the painters. “Today we finally locked Uruguay,” he said.

Street pianos are the brainchild of British artist Luke Jerram, whose Play Me, I’m Yours exhibit has been touring the world since 2008. The first exhibit featured 15 pianos in Birmingham, U.K. Since then, dozens of cities have showcased pianos in public places worldwide.

In the shop atop Robert Lowrey Piano Experts on Eglinton Avenue East on Wednesday, off-key piano notes and the smell of fresh paint filled the air.

Lasia Kretzel for National Post

Canadian artist Lee Claremont worked on her piano, the only baby grand among the collection, which will take centre stage at City Hall. She said deciding how to represent the host country took careful consideration.

“When I thought about Canada, I thought what does Canada mean and right away I thought about the land,” she said.

The exhibit will also feature one player piano aboard the Toronto Island ferry.

Jose Ortega, the owner of Lula Lounge and a Pan Am advisory board member, agreed to paint the Ecuador piano. “It’s great because I’ve dedicated my life to music for the past 10 years,” said Mr. Ortega, who was born in Ecuador. “It’s kind of a nice crossing of the two paths; the musical and the arts side.” His piano draws upon the region’s rich sea life and tropical climate.

Lasia Kretzel for National Post

The exhibit will open on July 10, when organizers will assemble all 41 pianos for a free concert in David Pecaut Square. The next day, trucks will bring them to spots across the city.

Local piano merchant Robert Lowrey found all the pianos. With only a couple of old pianos on hand, he had to tap other area stores for the rest. Some came from as far as Beaverton.

“The challenge is to get an old piano that is in the kind of shape you and I want to be in when we’re old, in other words, not decrepit,” said Mr. Lowrey. All the pianos must be perfectly tuned for opening night, he said.

Mr. Shipley said he will assign a “piano buddy” to each piano, who will routinely check on the pianos to prevent weather damage and vandalism, and cover each piano with a protective tarp at night.

Creative director Shipley said he hopes the pianos will be sent to other communities in the GTA once the exhibit ends on July 31. National Post